Hermes
"I have the speed of Olympus with me, mortal!" - Hermes Greek Mythology In Greek mythology, Hermes (Ἑρμῆς) was the messenger of the gods. He was also a god himself, being the patron of boundaries and of the travelers who cross them, of shepherds and cowherds, of thieves and road travelers, of orators and wit, of literature and poets, of athletics, of weights and measures, of invention, of general commerce, and of cunning of thieves and liars. He was the son of Zeus and the Pleiades Maia, a daughter of the mighty Titan Atlas. In the God of War Series ''God of War: Betrayal'' Though Hermes himself does not appear in God of War: Betrayal, his son Ceryx does, and is killed by Kratos, giving Hermes a reason to hate the Ghost of Sparta. ''God of War II'' After Kratos saved the Titans by traveling back in time, the second Great War began with the Titans scaling Mount Olympus. Amongst the onlooking gods was Hermes, standing between Hades and Helios. Also Hermes is one of the gods that can be seen fighting the titans during one of the two cutscenes of the Great War from God of War II. ''God of War III'' Hermes is one of the Gods who battles the Titans and Kratos. When the Titans ascend Mount Olympus, Hermes leaps from the dais where he and the other gods were standing and begins running straight down the mountain itself. He is not seen again, which makes his actual contribution to the fight unknown. While in the Labryinth, Kratos encounters Hermes, who taunts him about his quest for vengeance and boasts about his own speed. Hermes runs up the Great Chain linking Hades and Olympus, and Kratos climbs up after him. Hermes reappears in the Chamber of the Flame, again taunting Kratos about his lack of speed. He then leads Kratos around the outside of the palace at the peak of Mt. Olympus on a perilous chase, with Kratos dodging incoming projectiles from the Titan War and performing various platforming challenges to keep up with the messenger of the gods. Eventually, Kratos corners Hermes by launching a boulder from a catapult, chaining himself to the boulder with his Blades. The boulder crashes into the giant statue of Athena that Hermes has perched himself on, and in the fall Hermes is wounded. Unable to escape, Hermes unsuccessfully attempts to defeat Kratos in combat, using his formidable speed and agility to his advantage. Unfortunately for him, his wounds from the crash keep him tired and he is continually stopping to catch his breath. Defeated, Hermes mocks Kratos one last time, and dies when Kratos chops the god's legs off to take his winged boots, causing Hermes' corpse to dissolve into a swarm of disease-carrying flies that cover the land. Personality Hermes is shown as being playful and childish during his encounter with Kratos. He is greatly arrogant and boastful of his own speed, thinking that Kratos has no chance of defeating him. He acts quite laid-back most of the time, frequently flipping his coin when idle. He is also fairly talkative, taunting Kratos about his tendency to kill family members, his quest for vengeance, and his inability to match Hermes' speed. However, it appears that this light-hearted demeanor masks a seething hatred, which occasionally becomes evident in his dialogue with the Spartan and especially manifests itself when he is forced to confront Kratos in battle. Like most of the gods defeated in the game, he remains defiant to the end, laughing at Kratos' "own sense of honour" and insisting that the Ghost of Sparta will only betray himself in the end. Powers and Abilities Like all other gods, Hermes was Immortal and Invincible, however Pandora's Box or the Blade of Olympus have the power to kill him. Being the god of speed and as noted in the myths, Hermes was the fastest of all who dwelt on Olympus. This power came from his winged boots. They gave him the ability to defy gravity by running up walls, down mountains, along thin ropes, and by jumping incredible distances. Hermes may also have the power of Conjuring the Elements, as seen at the end of God of War II, Hermes has fire protruding from his hair and winged sandals. However in God Of War III Hermes has bright light for hair. It's possible that he has the power of Shapeshifting, a power that all Gods possess. The rest of Hermes' abilites are unknown, as we didn't see any shots of him fighting the Titans. Trivia *In Greek Mythology Hermes sandals allowed him to fly, however in the God of War Series, Hermes sandals appear to only give him the power to run along any surface. This is noted when Hermes runs along a rope to the Statue of Athena which he perched himself on, and when Kratos smashes into the Statue with the boulder, to which Hermes is trying to cling onto desperately. In both cases, Hermes should have been able to fly, once over to the statue, and the other to stop himself from crashing. However, it's possible he was trying to keep his game between him and Kratos fair enough to his liking and that the sandals can indeed grant flight. *Hermes also lacks a caduceus, a wand that most depictions of Hermes are always seen with. Instead, Hermes seems to possess a gold coin, which he occasionally flips with his fingers, and which can also be collected as an item by Kratos in God of War III before or after you kill him. Once in your possession, the coin grants ten times the amount of red orbs when killing enemies. Gallery File:Untitled_41.png|Hermes and Zeus File:Untitled_14.png|Hermes showing off his speed by running down the sheer cliffs of Mount Olympus File:Chapter3-57.jpg|Hermes talking File:Untitledhermes_44.png|Hermes trying to flee File:Untitled_11111.png|Kratos tossing Hermes against a wall File:Untitled_19.png|Hermes, exhausted File:Untitled_1111.png|Hermes trying to crawl away with one leg File:Hermes_11.png|Finishing off Hermes File:Untitled_2hermes.png|Hermes' corpse Related Pages *Ceryx *Gods *Boots of Hermes Category:Characters Category:God of War 2 Characters Category:Immortals Category:Relatives of Zeus Category:Gods Category:God of War 3 Characters Category:God of War III Bosses Category:Deceased characters